© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

FDA Ratchets Down On Prescribing Of OxyContin And Other Opioids

Drug overdose deaths have more than tripled in the U.S. since 1990. Opioid painkillers like OxyContin are the cause of three-quarters of those deaths.
Toby Talbot
/
Associated Press
Drug overdose deaths have more than tripled in the U.S. since 1990. Opioid painkillers like OxyContin are the cause of three-quarters of those deaths.

The Food and Drug Administration today took another step toward restricting use of OxyContin and other powerful and often-abused prescription pain medications.

The move comes amid an emotional debate over so-called long-acting opioid analgesics. Federal health officials and others are concerned about the rising number of Americans who are getting addicted to the drugs and overdosing on them. Pain specialists and their patients, however, fear that restrictions risk making it too hard for patients who need the drugs to get them.

In announcing the new requirements, Hamburg told reporters that the agency is trying to balance the dangers of abuse with the needs of patients.

"The FDA is invoking its authority to require safety labeling changes and post-market studies to combat the crisis of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose and death from these potent drugs that have harmed too many patients and devastated too many families and communities," FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg said in a statement.

"Today's action demonstrates the FDA's resolve to reduce the serious risks of long-acting and extended release opioids while still seeking to preserve appropriate access for those patients who rely on these medications to manage their pain," Hamburg said.

Among the changes is a warning to doctors that the drugs should only be prescribed for "pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term" treatment, Hamburg said. Currently, the drugs are recommended for patients with "moderate to severe" pain.

In addition, under the new guidelines the drugs should be "reserved" for patients "for whom alternative treatment options are ineffective, not tolerated or would be otherwise inadequate to provide sufficient management of pain," Hamburg said.

At the same time, the agency is requiring a new label directed at pregnant women. The prominent "boxed" warning labels will warn that chronic use of the drugs by pregnant women can cause a life-threatening complication in their babies known as neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome. Newborns go through withdrawal because they are no longer exposed to an addictive drug.

The agency also is demanding that companies that make the drugs conduct more studies to assess the risks associated with using the drugs, including addiction, abuse and fatal overdoses.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Rob Stein is a correspondent and senior editor on NPR's science desk.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content